and a whole brand New City to be built in Egypt (another desert??)
New City Egypt
These are some of the developments that spring to mind…developments that take your breath away…but how on earth are these small, money-hungry countries going to fund, let alone develop these ambitious projects? Projects so ambitious they raise eyebrows…well, mine mostly.
For example. Zimbabwe wanting to build a Disney Land at Victoria Falls…a pipe dream at the moment, but what a dream!! Just to keep tourists there longer than a day or two.
Disneyland
African Development Bank is one way, but most of the investments are coming from China.
The Chinese footprint in Africa has been cemented. In the last decade, investment in Africa by the world’s second-largest economy has surged to $2.9 billion from $75 million, and with it, China’s influence can be seen everywhere.
The next question… who is going to build these huge developments?
China of course.! If a Chinese company has invested in a Project, you can be sure that they will be building it too. Build, Own, Operate. But there are benefits, the Chinese do subcontract some of the work to the locals.
Swaziland, however, in an effort to ensure that their local contractors still have work and can tender for contracts, have implemented the rule that any projects less than E120 million cannot be awarded to foreign companies.
So, what has this have to do with developing Africa? Just feeding Africa does not solve anything. Providing them with employment that doesn’t warrant anything more than maybe digging a hole in the ground, painting a room, something that doesn’t require much skill, but providing these people with employment, a sense of self, educating them. Providing them with purpose. A trade. Hope. To me, that is really developing Africa.
When I used to imagine Africa, I used to think of trees, rivers, wildlife, war, jungles and deep dark Africa … nothing much could be happening there right?
You might take a sneaky glance at twitter’s ‘trending’ timeline to answer or perhaps Google. What about Africa? [tweetthis]Do you know what the Trends in Africa are?[/tweetthis] Many may answer with, “no clue”.
I doubt that this will be your answer for much longer. The narrative on Africa is evolving, there are more individuals and companies joining in the conversation and rightly so. Previously known as ‘Deepest Darkest Africa’ and most recently dubbed ‘Silicon Safari’, Africa is not only becoming an interest but a Trend in itself.
According to numerous sources the biggest Trend in Africa at the moment is Technology. Frost & Sullivan report that Africa could evolve into a $50 billion e-commerce market within the next three years. Kenya and Nigeria are leading in terms of fundraising and start-ups, other countries include Tanzania and South Africa. Africa has had explosive increases in internet usage and economic growth. In fact Internet usage is now growing faster in Africa than in any other continent and mobile subscriptions in Africa have eclipsed those in the Asian Pacific region. Companies like Safaricom, IBM and Facebook have all realised the significant opportunities for investment and innovation on the continent.
Technology is a major driving force of progress in every industry. This is particularly evident in Education in Africa. Tony Bates highlights the boom in online higher education enrollments in Africa, with many countries using eLearning as a way to meet the increased demand for higher education that traditional programs cannot. South Africa is the dominant country but will be overtaken by Nigeria by 2016 in terms of the volume of revenues from eLearning.
The population in Africa is projected to grow to 2 billion by 2050 resulting in the largest workforce according to the Harvard Business Review. Africa is also rich in natural resources, 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land in fact. Additionally, Africa has a USD$2 trillion economy with approximately a third of its countries obtaining annual GDP growths of more than six percent. [tweetthis]Of the top ten fastest growing economies in the world, six are in #Africa.[/tweetthis]
To end here is a quote to illustrate the Trends in Africa from the 2014 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos:
“Africa is the story. The big story is Africa. The Chinese and Japanese are fighting over Africa. This is a market of a billion people, of natural resources.” Dr Ahmed Heikal, Chairman and Founder of Citadel Capital
According to a Port Development Plan by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), dated September 2014, various developments have been listed for the Ports currently under the TNPA’s care and control, namely Western Ports: Saldanha Bay, Cape Town and Mossel Bay; Central Ports: Port Elizabeth, Ngqura and East London and Eastern Ports: Durban, New Durban Dig-Out Port and Richards Bay. Below is a brief breakdown of some of the activity at South African’s various Ports.
Western Ports:
Port of Saldaha Bay – In 2013 with the aim in increasing the iron ore export from the Port of Saldanha Bay, Transnet proposed a third tippler and associated infrastructure, for which Gibb (Pty) Ltd were appointed as the Independent Environmental Assessment Practitioners. The tender for the Construction of Vault, Tunnel, Buildings and Ancillaries for Transnet Tippler 3 Project at the Port of Saldanha was advertised at the end of July 2015 (DTA 525896) and is expected to close on 08 September 2015.
Port of Cape Town – The Request for Proposal for the New Cruise Terminal Facility at the Port of Cape Town was advertised in December 2014 (DTA 487279), and in June 2015 the announcement by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) was made of the preferred bidder being V & A Waterfront (Pty) Ltd. According to the media statement, the V & A Waterfront will invest just under R179 million to finance, design and develop the terminal and the agreement includes the operation, maintenance and transfer of ownership of the facility back to TNPA after a period of 20 years. Currently, V & A Waterfront are in negotiations to sign the lease, and it’s expected that any development will only commence after May 2016.
Port of Mossel Bay – The most recent tender concerning construction in the Port of Mossel Bay is the Request for Proposal for Extension and Construction of the Administrative Building in the Port of Mossel Bay (DTA 500781) which was advertised in March this year. So far no award has been made.
Central Ports:
Port of Port Elizabeth – TNPA expectes to relocate the Manganese Ore Terminal and the Tank Fam to the Port of Ngqura. TNPA expects to start shipping manganese ore out of Ngqura in 2019 and the relocation should happen before this. As of December 2014, it could take these four years before the Manganese Terminal at the Port of Ngqura is completed therefore ending the relocation from the Port of Port Elizabeth. Apparently the plan is to convert the Manganese Terminal and tank farm land into a vehicle terminal, the timeframe for the decommisioning and rehabilitation of tank and manganese land is 2018 to 2021. As of 14 August 2015, Transnet Port Terminals was issued with a permanent operating license for operating the manganese terminal at the Port of Ngqura.
Port of Ngqura – Manganese Export Expansion Project at the Port of Nguqura involves the upgrade and expansion of the rail network, new bulk minerals export terminal and the reinstatement of existing berths. Infrastructure will comprise new roads, infrastructure services and buildings as well as new equipment: stackers, reclaimers, surge bins and an unloading system (tippler), a conveyor system linking the stockyard with existing berths and these berths will be equipped with twin shiploaders. The tenders for the Port of Ngqura Manganese Export Terminal (DTA 444247) as well as Phase 2 of the Rail project (DTA 444237) were advertised April 2014. The tender for the Design, Supply, Installation and Commissioning of 2 Shiploaders for the Ngqura Manganese Export has been advertised in August 2015 (DTA 527882) and ix expected to close on 22 September 2015. The tender for Design, Supply, Installation and Commissioning of a Rotary Dual Wagon Tippler Facility including Supply and Installation of Apron Feeders, Dust Extraction and Suppression Systems, for the Ngqura Manganese Export Terminal is also out (DTA 527873) and also closes on 22 September 2015. Port of East London – In July 2014, it was announced that the Coal terminal at the Port of East London would move to the new Port of Ngqura and be operational in approximately five year’s time. Future development that might be expected is the extention to the Port of East London to include an expanded container terminal, refurbish liquid bulk facilities and boat building.
Eastern Ports:
Port of Richards Bay– With regards to the Port of Richards Bay, plans include the establishment of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility.
Port of Durban – The Request for Proposal for the Design, Development, Financing, Construction, Operation and Maintenance and Transfer of the New Cruise Terminal Facilities at the Port of Durban was initially advertised in June 2013 (DTA 382061). No award was made and it was advertised again in July 2015 (DTA 524504) The RFP is expected to close on 02 October 2015.
Durban Dig-Out Port (DDOP) – “From 2019 to 2042, Transnet will embark on its medium-term projects, which includes the new dig-out port. The new harbour will be built at Durban’s old International Airport and will require the construction of: a breakwater and entrance channel; a 16 berth container basin and terminals; and a new automotive terminal, among other infrastructure”. So far the driver for the DDOP remains the same, demand will exceed capacity at the existing Port of Durban by ±2025. Although nothing has advanced beyond the planning stage, the current view is that the first phase should be operational by 2025. (PPA 10166)
I started working at Leads 2 Business in February 2005, and have served as Head of Department of Daily Tenders from 2007 until the present. I oversee both the Daily Tenders South Africa and Africa Departments.
